"Paradigm entities are stable instances of organizations of underlying process, such as atoms or animals. There are two kinds of such stability: 1) equilibrium or energy well stability, and 2) open process far-from-equilibrium stability. Energy well stabilities are those process patterns that would require energy input to destabilize them. They exist, or would exist, at thermodynamic equilibrium. So long as the ambient energy is not sufficient to destabilize them, to disrupt their cohesion, they will tend to persist. Atoms are a paradigm example.

Necessarily open system stability, in contrast, cannot exist at equilibrium. Necessarily open systems are inherently far from equilibrium and cease to exist if they approach equilibrium. But approach equilibrium they inexorably will, unless there are continuous exchanges with the environment that maintain the critical far-from-equilibrium conditions. The stability of far-from-equilibrium-systems, then, depends on the stability of those conditions in the environment and relations to the environment that maintain the necessary far-from-equilibrium conditions. In some cases, all such conditions are stability are in the environment per se, and the system stability is completely dependent on the environment.”

Slots and Values
ref	p337
source	Unnamed